Newtown Food Surplus
Newtown, UK
We have two aims: * To protect the environment by reducing food waste. Food waste has a real impact on the environment. We are saving water used to grow wasted food, energy to transport it, and greenhouse gas emissions when it rots in landfill. * To battle food poverty. We are providing good quality food, free of charge to people in the Newtown area. People can take surplus food, without charge. They are welcome to make a donation if they can afford to. We now collect daily from six supermarkets, and less regularly each week from a further five. We have developed a 'market' based approach at food shares which provides customers with open free-choice access to a wide range of surplus food. We are now saving over one tonne of food each week from being wasted. About 130 households per week come to our food shares, held twice each week in the centre of Newtown Our stock is further supplemented through purchasing core items of food for making family meals, when they are not available as surplus from the supermarkets. This is funded through a donation model and is self-sustaining. We are also reaching a widening range of customers through partnership with local family centres, nurseries, schools and community cafés to let them share and use surplus food. We have recruited an active volunteer group of more than 60. It has become clear that volunteer opportunities have been taken up by a significant number of individuals with a range of additional needs – physical, mental, social and emotional. We are developing responsive volunteer support and oversight processes which recognise our role in providing support structures and mechanisms to help other agencies and the community in meeting these needs. We have also started working in partnership with a range of other voluntary sector organisations who serve client groups overlapping with ours. They are now providing us with additional volunteers, while using our food shares as venues at which they can offer access to their services. We have been able to distribute information about services for benefits claimants and support materials related to domestic violence.
What we've received